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I has a great opportunity to talk about video games and connect with a great guy name Robbie on his podcast, Side Quest FM. Robbie is so passionate about fitness and discipline and he loves video games. He even uses video game philosophy in coaching his clients. I couldn’t have asked for a better show to be on.

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The following is a guest blog post from an online friend and fellow gamer Mike Sweetman. Mike blogs at beahealthygeek.com, and loves to mix geek and games with fitness and self-improvement. So, let’s dive right into the post:

One of the best self-help books I’ve read over the past year is, “The Way of the Seal” by Mark Divine. The book suggests that it will help you to “think like an elite warrior to lead and succeed.” At it’s core it is a business book, but it is also much more than that. It is much more than just a business book because it includes actual workbook like sections. And also because it teaches you to focus and overcome fears that can destroy business. For example he teaches you about concepts like front sight focus…but what is that?

What is Front Sight Focus?

Front sight focus is the ability to select the best targets or goals and stay zeroed in on them until they are completed. I’ve actually come to think of front sight focus as concentrating on those things that pop up as you try to complete your objective. You need to focus on these distractions in front of you, and then return to working on the main objective.

How I used Front Sight Focus in a Galaxy Far Far Away…

So perhaps a month or two after actually reading “The Way of the Seal” I was playing some Star Wars BattleFront online multiplayer. I’m pretty horrible since I don’t play very often. But, I realized that I might be able to improve my scores if I applied Mark Divine’s front sight focus principle.

To be more successful I needed to front site focus, but also keep my mind on the overall game scenario. I noticed far too often I was just running into the fray and being destroyed. I really didn’t focus enough on my radar. (Which shows close by enemies.) Plus I rarely even thought about my overall game objective which is often worth more than taking down other opponents.

So putting Mark Divine’s teaching to work, I decided that I needed to front site focus on my radar and screen, but once any immediate threat was eliminated I needed to return to thinking about the overall objective, like capture the flag, or capture and control. So, I might need to eliminate an opponent, but as soon as I was finished with defeating that opponent, I’d get right back on track to reaching my objective.

This may sound like common sense. And it is, but players, myself included, often get completely distracted from the game scenario, and are only concerned shooting other opponents. So, they never reach the objective, and never get the extra points.

The great news is this really worked for me. I don’t think I’ll ever be the best sharp shooter, but I started winning awards for gaining the most objective points!

Real Life:

So when it comes to real life, I always front sight focus on smaller targets as they come up, but I always keep my larger objectives in mind.

For example in my classroom, I am often interrupted by my students, announcements, or any number of other things. I need to deal with each of these interruptions as they come up, but must keep coming back to my overall objective of teaching a specific outcome to my students.

Another example would be crossing things off my to do list. I have things that come up in daily life that I must do, but they often don’t contribute to my overall personal goals. This means that as soon as I’m done with them, I need to get back to reaching those main objectives.

Of course, to be successful at reaching these ‘real life objectives or goals’ you need to be sure what your top objectives are? Why not take a moment to write them down now?

Thanks to Ches for letting me share my thoughts! I hope this helps you out in some way, and if you are really into Star Wars and self development I suggest you checkout my post here on thinking like a Jedi Knight! You may also be interested in some of the videos I’m putting up on my Youtube channel here. Stay healthy and stay geeky.

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Not too long ago, I posted here promising either a post or a major update every other Monday. Yesterday was one of those Mondays – so I was quick to fail on that promise.

However – I have a great excuse: Hurricane Matthew.

I accept your forgiveness.

Your update – slightly late – is this: LLYG is going to through some BIG changes. I did make the promise to have consistent content – but I have come upon a realization and some advice that requires me to shake up LLYG in a big way.

Realization: People love LLYG – but they don’t know it exists.

I have gotten a lot of feedback from people who have found LLYG a breath of fresh air. They appreciate the positivity and insights into their favorite pastime.

But here’s the thing: almost no one is checking out this site. Few people find this place to actually read those insights. I have been reaching out to anyone that will listen – but I just don’t have the traction for people to find it. I can’t help people with my writing if it is never read.

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I have been working on a lot of different LLYG projects since last time. Not all of it is interesting to hear about yet, so I will just highlight something I wrote that was surprisingly popular on Quora. Enjoy.

Question:

Is gaming destroying Western civilization?

My Answer:

Yes. But not for the reasons that you think.

Video games are sometimes blamed for every ill of this generation. I’ve even heard unjust police shootings blamed on violent video games. The theory is that video games are a realm devoid of morality and therefore encourage antisocial behavior.

But this is just propaganda. There is no evidence that this is happening. As video games have soared in popularity, violence has fallen. The blame of video games is just grasping at straws for a political punching bag.

No, video games will destroy Western civilization in other ways:

Video games break geographic and social barriers – Players can connect with players from every walk of life and place of origin. For instance, Nintendo has forever flavored the West with Japanese culture. Individual players can make friends from across the world, bound by the bonds of competition or a common struggle.

Shakes up long-standing traditions – Nearly every child growing up now will be a gamer. It is the new pastime to end all pastimes. Those expecting the rising generation to honor the same traditions will see them dissolve as lifelong passion for gaming overpowers outdated conventions.

Video games are changing every aspect of life – Video games are now in many school programs. Companies are commissioning games for training. Governments are implementing games for public projects. The enthusiasm around video games is so overwhelming that everyone is copying their playbook. Anyone who doesn’t embrace games will be left behind.

Video games are making the world a better place and supplanting the uninformed systems that have gotten us here.

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Apparently today is National Video Games Day: a day to celebrate the joy that video games have brought into our lives.

But for many of us, video games give us mixed emotions, or even painful ones. Many gamers like myself look over their gaming past and see mistakes – times when we were playing games when we shouldn’t have. Times when we let our responsibilities and ambitions go as playing games seemed important at the time.

This phenomenon has a name: Gamer Regret. Some gamers swear off the hobby entirely, worried that it is out of their control. Some constantly struggle with how it fits in their life. I am happy to say that now measure my time that is truly wasted playing games is now measured in hours instead of years.

Still, it is difficult for me to talk about those years. Years when I could have been doing so much else – so much better. I know that I would probably prefer it if no one ever brought it up again.

But trying to erase regret by turning a blind eye is a mistake. I always advocate for focusing on the positive, but ignoring the negative is a step too far. Because even if you don’t like it, your gaming habits tell valuable information about you.

What valuable information? Well, the games you play- particularly the ones that fascinate and grip you – tell you about what motivates and excites you. The real world often pulls you away from the things you love, but games let you choose exactly what you want. So, in a way, games can tell you more about yourself than your real life.

For instance, maybe your financial situation didn’t let you pursue your interest in art, but in Minecraft you could build whatever you wanted. Sinking in the hours proved that that passion is still there. Maybe putting artistic expression higher on your priorities will restore some missing fulfillment.

The games you play can reveal a side of you that is more social or more analytical. More adventurous or more structured. Find a way to connect with that side to get more of what you want out of life.Don’t shy away from your past gaming regrets. Take a look at what your gaming history says about you, and how you can find the right obsession for your life.

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I will be updated LLYG every other Monday. That means a new post or a significant behind-the-scenes development will be coming regularly. The behind-the-scenes stuff may be announced here or not: this kind of work requires a lot of plans made that never come to fruition. Rest assured that you will not be forewarned of interesting content, though.

Case in point . . . a couple weeks ago, I was honored to be interviewed by the podcast Dumbbells & Dragons. It is a great website and resource for nerdy conversations, fitness knowledge, and inspiration. The podcast episode will be available for listen sometime in September.

If you are interested in some LLYG reading, definitely check out my Quora activity on the left. Here is a link to some advice I gave to a gamer hoping to improve his motivation and work ethic. It got more attention than I normally do.

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Hesitation is how you miss your jump. It’s how the boss lands a hit. It’s how you fall behind.

Whether it’s Mario, Dark Souls, or DOTA, being decisive is key. All your plans and buildup don’t mean much if you don’t seize the moment.

Games are constantly punishing us for hesitation.

This is a good thing. Hesitation is a bad habit.

I am teaching myself how to play drums. When I started, I would often lose confidence and freeze up. I was worried that I would hit the wrong head or hit it in the wrong way. Slowly, I learned that the only way for me to improve was to go ahead and hit whatever I was going to hit. Maybe I did it wrong, but at least I was moving forward and learning along the way.

Since then, I have seen a lot of other people react to a drum set in the same way. With sticks in hand, they would sit and stare at the set. They wouldn’t dare touch a device literally designed to be hit.

Hesitation holds us back from so many opportunities.

We stand as the train rolls past us, or -worse yet – it rusts out waiting for us to jump on.